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Diurnal pattern of cortisol and amylase output in postnatal depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

M. Kammerer ,
A. Taylor ,
N. Khalife ,
K. O’Donnell ,
M. Marks  and
V. Glover
M. Kammerer
Affiliation:
Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
A. Taylor
Affiliation:
Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK School of Biomedical Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
N. Khalife
Affiliation:
Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
K. O’Donnell
Affiliation:
Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK
M. Marks
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
V. Glover
Affiliation:
Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK

Abstract

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Objective

This study investigated the diurnal output of saliva cortisol and saliva amylase in women with symptoms of depression postnatally.

Method

Twenty one depressed and 30 non depressed women at 7.5 weeks postpartum, and 21 non perinatal controls, collected saliva at waking, 30 minutes, and three and twelve hours post waking.

Results

Women who were not depressed postnatally showed a pattern of cortisol secretion over the day similar to non perinatal controls. There was a significant difference in diurnal pattern between postnatally depressed and postnatally non depressed women, due to a difference in the first two time points (waking and +30 mins): compared to the other two groups who each had a significant increase in cortisol levels from waking to +30 minutes, the depressed women had significantly higher cortisol levels at waking and no increase at +30 minutes. Analyses of amylase are underway and will be presented.

Conclusion

The lack of a morning rise in the depressed women is similar to that reported for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome and may reflect a response, in vulnerable women, to the marked cortisol withdrawal that occurs after delivery. Alternatively it could be a trait marker for women at risk of developing postnatal depression.

Type
P02-503
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 26 , Issue S2: Abstracts of the 19th European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2011 , pp. 1099
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2011
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